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So two days ago I got really disappointed in myself, because I did something I shouldn't have. That night I said a long pray and God answered it for me. The very next day I got my head into the game and I'm proud to say I have been to the gym two days in a row. And today alone I did a mile and a half on the traidmill and a half mile on the eliptical. Go Team Me!

Well the scale is tucked away in the closet...I'm not saying I'm never going to use it but I think once or twice a month will be good. My clothes are falling off me but the numbers weren't moving fast enough for me......Mentally...I needed to see the number moving....not sure why....

Ok i have been sitting here reading the furums this morning... and WOW.... I mean were all in the same place....sure some of us are a lil more ahead then others...but we all started at the same START LINE....we all want to get to the same place.... yet Im reading so much meanness from so many people....Were living in a world with so much meaness right now....It just saddens me to see a group of people with the same goals...hurting and even wishing bad to each other.....I just cant wrap my mind around this....

Today while I was at work I honestly had to say to myself I am so thankful for my health. When you work in a hospital you think you have seen everything and then there is always something worse. The pain that people suffer, the drug addiction, alcoholism, patients with HIV, miserable infections that antibiotics wont cure, people trying to kill themselves, and the list goes on, I just have to think these aches and pains I have from being on my feet for 12 hours is nothing compared to how these people suffer daily. All the people in ICU on vents being kept alive by a machine. Some of these things just are not right. When you see these things from a medical perspective it really is an eye opener. I never in my life have seen family's who are so selfish to keep someone alive and make them suffer because they don't want to let go. Then they stand outside of ICU and argue about what the patient wants, when in fact it's not at all what the patient wants but what they want. The patients that get me the most are the elderly with dementia whose bodies work so well but their minds don't. It must really be pure hell to have a healthy body but you can't remember who your family is or where you are. I don't take life or my health for granted because it can be gone in a minute. One of my coworkers today had to leave work because her cousin was shot dead in her car because someone tried to car jack the car and she wouldnt open the door. A life gone in less then the time it takes to send a text. Life is hard and people are even harder. I am thankful today and always for everything I have. I will take my bad hip any day then suffer like others do. Take time to be thankful for everything in your life.

We had a great support group meeting today and the topic was "Understanding the Desire to Eat" presented by Katie Mckenna, a specialist in both nutrition and psychology - her visits are always incredibly enlightening. http://www.mckennaco...om/default.html Our nutritionist also shared a new resource that looks interesting that I will most likely check out - the paste is from the bariatric section of thier website. I am of the belief that one can never have too many resources to help us long the way on this journey. http://www.amihungry...c-Surgery.shtml Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery The Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery helps resolve the mindless habits and emotional eating issues that lead to problems after bariatric surgery. It includes TWO books (both paperback)*: Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Journal * Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle The award-winning book Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat is the foundation of this program; the Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Awareness Journal shows you how to apply this life-changing approach after you've had bariatric surgery. (This program is appropriate for people who have had or are considering gastric bypass, the band, or the sleeve.) Each of the eight workshops in the Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Awareness Journal helps you apply what you’ve read in Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat to your daily life and explore issues that are unique to people who have had bariatric surgery. Each of the eight workshops also has a special section called "Adjust" to guide you through the necessary skills to adjust to your "new normal." (See Dr. May's article below: It's STILL Not About the Food.) Download the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Journal table of contents and an excerpt from Workshop 8 listing the key concepts here. *Available only as a set because the Bariatric Surgery Workbook and Awareness Journal is a companion to Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle. It is not intended to be used alone. If you have already purchased Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat from us, you may email Orders@AmIHungry.com with your name so we can look it up (or you can email us a copy of your receipt). We are sorry for the inconvenience but it is very important that you use both books together! Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery (set of two books) $39.90 Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery - Webinar Participate in this workshop from the convenience and privacy of your own home! Facilitator: Jeff Butts (Read Jeff's personal story here) Dates: Wednesdays, March 6, 2013 - April 24, 2013 Time: 5:00 - 6:30 pm PST/6:00 - 7:30pm MST/7:00 - 8:30pm CST/8:00 - 9:30pm EST Investment: $199 Click Here to Register Email training@AmIHungry.com to receive advanced notification of future webinar dates. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery - Facilitator Training Do you work with bariatric surgery patients? Now available: Facilitator Training to offer Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery in your bariatric center, office, or community! Please download the Facilitator Training information packet and contact us at 480 704-7811 or Training@AmIHungry.com to learn more. About the Author Michelle May, M.D. Michelle May, M.D. is a recovered yoyo dieter and the founder of the Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating Workshops and Facilitator Training Program (www.AmIHungry.com). She is the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle that guides readers to eat fearlessly and mindfully. Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat received seven publishing awards including best book in the categories of health, best self-help, best nutrition, and mind-body-spirit and was named one of the Top 10 Diet Books in 2010 by Time.com (though Michelle insists that it is a how-not-to-diet book!). She is also the author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes. Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. served as a consultant on this project: Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. has specialized in bariatric surgery at bariatric surgery centers of excellence for over a decade, including Tufts Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and The Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery. She is currently a Bariatric Nutrition Specialist at The University of Maryland Medical Center, in Baltimore, Maryland. Margaret has co-authored 3 patient-centered books on bariatric surgery and nutrition, including her newly-revised Recipes for Life After Weight Loss Surgery and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery. She was one of the authors of the 2008 bariatric nutrition guidelines published by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Margaret speaks internationally on bariatric surgery and nutrition. Bariatric Surgery: It's STILL Not About the Food! Michelle May, M.D. writes about why mindful eating is so helpful for bariatric surgery patients: Bariatric Surgery is Only a Tool While bariatric surgery may be controversial, even bariatric surgeons agree that bariatric surgery is a tool, not a quick fix. This is a critical point because a tool can do nothing on its own; it requires skillful management by a knowledgeable user to work effectively. Therefore results following bariatric surgery depend on learning to use that tool optimally to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Adjusting to a New Normal When people ask my opinion about bariatric surgery, I have to admit that it's a tough question because many people who decide to try surgery believe that they've tried everything else. Most have never even heard of intuitive or mindful eating. Some believe or hope that having bariatric surgery will solve all of their problems—but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, if you’re an “emotional eater,” the situations and emotions that triggered eating in the past are unlikely to disappear simply because you’ve chosen to have bariatric surgery. As one patient said, “They didn’t operate on my brain!” Some discover that they “miss” their friend—food—leaving them with a feeling of loss. As one person told me, "I've cut out my coping skill!" Others believe that after surgery they won’t need to think about their eating anymore. In fact, it is just the opposite. You need to become very thoughtful about eating in order to use this tool optimally. If you’re not mindful about your eating, this “tool” can cause you to experience uncomfortable, even serious consequences—and you’ll be far less likely to get the results you hoped for. Bottom line: It breaks my heart to see people invest so much yet continue to struggle in their relationship with food. Bariatric Surgery and Mindful Eating Since 1999, tens of thousands of people have used the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program and/or read Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, to resolve their difficult eating issues. There are often people in our workshops who have had also bariatric surgery. They explain that surgery did not fix their real problem and/or that they need additional skills to cope with their "new normal." Mindfulness is beneficial because it teaches us to focus our attention and awareness on what is happening right now, which in turn, helps us disengage from habitual, unsatisfying, and unskillful habits and behaviors. Specifically, mindful eating skills help resolve the mindless habits and emotional eating issues that lead to problems after bariatric surgery: Eating too quickly Taking large bites Not chewing thoroughly Eating while distracted leading to overconsumption Not savoring food and therefore having difficulty feeling satisfied with small volumes of food Eating too much, leading to vomiting and/or distention of the pouch Grazing throughout the day Eating "slider" foods and high-calorie soft foods and liquids, often in response to emotional triggers Not consuming enough protein or nutrient-rich foods Feeling deprived or left-out in social situations Struggling to establish consistent physical activity Transfer addictions And many other issues... Further, most people who make the difficult decision to have bariatric surgery want to improve their health and energy so they can live the vibrant life they crave. Yet without the additional tool of mindful eating, bariatric surgery can feel like a permanent diet that continues to consume your life. One of the most meaningful changes that happens when you learn to eat mindfully (whether you've had surgery or not!) is that it allows you to think about eating when you need to and free up your energy and attention to focus on living in between. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery For all these reasons we felt that it was time to create a mindful eating program especially for people who have had (or who are considering) bariatric surgery. We have a brand new Bariatric Surgery Workbook and Awareness Journal and will also begin offering additional workshop training for Am I Hungry? Facilitators who work with bariatric surgery patients. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery (set of two books) $39.90 (For a sneak peek, download a pdf of the key concepts covered in this Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating program for Bariatric Surgery.) I am personally very excited about bringing the life-changing concepts of intuitive and mindful eating to the many people who, despite having surgery, still find themselves stuck in an eat-repent-repeat cycle. After all, even after bariatric surgery, it still isn't really about the food. Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly! Michelle May, M.D.

I will see if we have one here in Jacksonville

Really struggling today, this bronchitus of the airways is terrible, you dont coff, you splutter and gasp to breath and my throat is so soar too. Anyway, health report over, i will recover and i need to because today out of the blue i received a letter from my heamatologist with my blood test reults. Hubby has hotfooted it to the hospital to hand the letter in to my surgeon, who will be ringing me next week, well my nurse will, and as she doesn't work mondays it will be tuesday. The blood tests show that i have got the lupus coagulant in my blood, and rather than my blood not clotting quick enough, this messes with the test and my blood actually is more likely to clot too much. I can have my op but will need to be on anti clotting meds for 2-3 weeks after surgery. I need to now see a rhumatologist about the lupus but have to be referred by my gp, passing the book yet again. My 80 year old mom has decided to go into a nursing home after another infection where she ended up in hospital. This is going to keep me busy mentally over the next month or so and a lot of physical work by my husband, our two sons and hubbies brother to empty moms bungalow. It is very difficult when this has to be faced in life, it is something that she never wanted or me, but she needs 24 hour nursing care and i cant give it to her, so a nhs funded nursinf home is the only answer. I think i am too ill and emotionally drained to be excited or otherwise about my op at the moment. I had it in my head to have it in march, no later, but seeing as they only do 2 ops per week on one day a week am hoping they havnt scheduled march yet and i have time to get better and start my 2 week pre op diet before march begins, ready for the first date in march. I went to my support group last night and they are a brilliant bunch of people who are cheering me on, and i know i am very blessed to have them, and i have a group of christian friends who are praying for me and supporting me too. I think i will only believe it is happening when im actually wheeled into the operating room, lol. Did i say, i had my hair cut 2 weeks ago, really short with a short fringe and spiky and everyone says it makes me look younger, and i love how easy it is to do. I have had a pic taken of me with a white furry hat that looks like a dalmation head and everyone says i looked nice in it so for the first time in years i have my face on my facebook account. Not ready dor the body yet though. I always said when my face was thinner that i would have my hair cut and have surprised myself by having it cut now. I have even begun to wear make up when i go out and its made me realise how much i had given up on myself, so i feel younger as well as looking younger. I have told hubby to smarten himself up too and have bought him some younger looking clothes so we match more, dont want my man wearing bobbly flecees-jacket and jumper when he takes me out, he has spruced up well, i have a well dressed handsome silver fox on my arm now, just wait while i loose my weight, i think his little belly will have to go, lol. I am determined to do all i should to loose the weight healthly and to maintain it, i dont want to be putting any weight lost back on, i know it can happen and am aware that the sleeve is a tool that only works when you use it correctly, and i will need to deal with comfort eating and weak will and eating chocolate or puddings to comfort me. I have seen how the sucsessful people work at it, and i want to be one of those people, i want the new me and the new life it will bring. I was talking to a lady last night who has had the bypass and she told me that what she eats now is the same that a thin woman would have always eaten instead of the huge portions she used to eat that made her 27 stone = 27 x 14 lbs. That made sense, the smaller stomach helps us to eat what our bodies need instead of what our stomachs demand, cant wait to get rid of the greedy part of my stomach and work with my new smaller stomach. I will update next week and really hope it will all be good news now, bye for now, keep up the good work, because You are worth it, xxxx

Mistress Band, the Dominatrix